The dissolution rates of active homogeneous metallic glasses are greater than those of homogeneous crystals of the same composition. If thermodynamically unstable homogeneous crystals are first formed, their later disintegration into a heterogeneous alloy usually results in an increase of the dissolution rate which may exceed the dissolution rate of the glass. Several examples of this behavior are discussed. A general theory for the dissolution rate of active alloys was developed and tested experimentally with metallic glasses offering the advantage that the composition can be changed in wide limits without changing the structure. In ideal cases th e rate constants for the dissolution of the components are independent of their concentration in the alloy. Usually the total dissolution rates were faster than in the ideal case. The behavior is explained in terms •fthe atomistic structure and of the composition of the alloy surface: Theeffect of some components on the passivity of metallic glasses is considered.Metallic glasses were used to establish the influences of structure and of composition on electrochemical reactivity (1-4). The influence of structure follows from a comparison of the active dissolution rates of the glasses to those of the crystals of the same homogeneous composition. The effect of substitution on the dissolution rates can be studied with glasses better than with crystalline alloys because changes of the composition at constant structure are possible in wider limits. Mechanisms of the dissolution of crystalline alloys were reviewed by Kaiser (5), and the electrochemical properties of metallic glasses by Archer et al. (6).Experiments were performed with binary and ternary boron glasses containing Fe, Co, Ni, V, Cr, Pt, or Pd, etc., and with zirconium or titanium glasses containing Fe, Co, Ni, or Cu. The electrolytes usually were deaerated acid sulfate or perchlorate solutions at 298 K. Other electrolytes were used to study the influence of the electrolyte composition on the dissolution rates. Details of the experimental procedure are described elsewhere (1, 2, 4, 7).